Which one is better for blog? domain.com/blog or blog.domain.com

12 years ago

"Since search engines keep different metrics for domains than they do subdomains, it is recommended that webmasters place link-worthy content like blogs in subfolders rather than subdomains. (i.e. www.example.com/blog/ rather than blog.example.com) The notable exceptions to this are language-specific websites. (i.e., en.example.com for the English version of the website)."

Moz's official stance on Subdomain vs Subfolder - does it need updating? | Moz Q&A

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mattyseo

12 years ago

domain.com/ blog always. Dont create a subdomain, its too risky and looks spammy.

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masterqif

12 years ago

Originally Posted by inxie

"Since search engines keep different metrics for domains than they do subdomains, it is recommended that webmasters place link-worthy content like blogs in subfolders rather than subdomains. (i.e. www.example.com/blog/ rather than blog.example.com) The notable exceptions to this are language-specific websites. (i.e., en.example.com for the English version of the website)."

Moz's official stance on Subdomain vs Subfolder - does it need updating? | Moz Q&A

Originally Posted by Kelvin Chan

Folder or directory. No doubt about it.

Avoid subdomains unless it makes the url really pretty.

Like http://ice.cream.com for example v.s. http://cream.com/ice

Originally Posted by mattyseo

domain.com/ blog always. Dont create a subdomain, its too risky and looks spammy.

Thanks for the reply, well I guess I need to install a new wordpress on the folder right?

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kilgore

12 years ago

Originally Posted by masterqif

Thanks for the reply, well I guess I need to install a new wordpress on the folder right?

That's probably the easiest solution, but it's far from the only solution. You can use Apache aliases for instance or if you're running something like Varnish Cache, you could write a rule that would send all traffic to /blog/ to a completely different server. Personally, I like to keep my software separate in order to have tighter deployments and to minimize potential security vulnerabilities, so I'd probably go with the separate server option, but my requirements and your requirements are likely different.

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Michael Shook 12 years ago

Domain.com/blog is simplest, requires less tech knowledge to keep up and running well, and truthfully looks easy to people who want to read what you have to say. Most people will (even unconsciously) understand what /blog is. Not so much with blog.domain.com
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- nik0 Banned 12 years ago
  
  A sub domain gets treated as an individual entity so it doesn't strengthen your main domain and doesn't benefit from the main domain either. That's why it's better to go for a folder / directory setup. Do make sure if you add /blog/ that it has a decent structure with categories and such, that seems to be more and more important these days. Google loves well structured sites so don't turn it into a content farm type of thing.
  
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masterqif

12 years ago

Originally Posted by kilgore

That's probably the easiest solution, but it's far from the only solution. You can use Apache aliases for instance or if you're running something like Varnish Cache, you could write a rule that would send all traffic to /blog/ to a completely different server. Personally, I like to keep my software separate in order to have tighter deployments and to minimize potential security vulnerabilities, so I'd probably go with the separate server option, but my requirements and your requirements are likely different.

I would probably don't do that because I don't anything about varnish cache and such..

btw, thank you everyone for respond to this question. It is really helpful

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timfleagle 12 years ago

if it is a new website and wordpress is the primary design i personally would use domain.com.
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- rodelu 12 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by timfleagle
  
  if it is a new website and wordpress is the primary design i personally would use domain.com.
  
  agree. It's better to use domain.com for the blog. You have to make it as easy as possible for people. My opinion.
  
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Arina

12 years ago

Inxie is right, don't create a sub domain, just keep it in the folder...

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Kelvin Chan

12 years ago

Folder or directory. No doubt about it.

Avoid subdomains unless it makes the url really pretty.

Like http://ice.cream.com for example v.s. http://cream.com/ice

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iAmNameLess

12 years ago

In my opinion, the only time you should be using sub domains is when your brand or your domain gets a lot of searches itself... OR if you're doing reputation management.

This gives your website more search engine real estate for those keywords.

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DubDubDubDot

12 years ago

If the blog is going to have the same type of content meant for the same viewers of the rest of the site, there is never going to be any question how Google handles example.com/blog. That is the safe choice if you don't want to risk choosing sides between SEO "experts" arguing over the sub-domain matter.

Originally Posted by mattyseo

domain.com/ blog always.

something.example.com makes sense in exotic use cases where the content and/or viewers are different than those on example.com.

Beyond that, using it for aesthetics because you don't like the looks of example.com/blog, nobody can really say for sure.

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tyronne78

12 years ago

Here is another good post on the Moz blog regarding the subject of root domains,subdomains,and subfolders:

Root Domains, Subdomains vs. Subfolders and The Microsite Debate - Moz